Student Affairs Assessment

What are some strategies for establishing a culture of assessment and a systematic process of inquiry? What are methods beyond the traditional survey that we can employ to improve student learning and better serve our students? How can we creatively aggregate data and share our story with university stakeholders? How can we raise the bar in assessment education and skill across an entire division of Student Affairs? What are the emerging roles and responsibilities of divisional assessment coordinators? How do you overcome commonly stated barriers to assessment such as time constraints, limited resources, staff resistance, crisis of the immediate, and lack of skills? What is the potential for use of technology for collecting, analyzing, and processing data?

Learn the answers to these questions and more as host Tony Doody speaks with Dr. Gavin Henning, Director of the Master of Higher Education Administration and Doctorate of Education Programs at New England College, and Dr. Darby Roberts, Director of Student Life Studies at Texas A&M University.

Watch this webcast for FREE at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 by visiting higheredlive.com. No advance registration is required.

Please contribute to the conversation by emailing questions before the show to tony@higheredlive.com or by tweeting live during the show using the #higheredlive hashtag. We’ll do our best to infuse questions from viewers (with attribution) into the live conversation.

Episode Host

Tony Doody

Tony Doody has over 25 years of practical experience and oversight in senior leadership positions within the Higher Education industry in the areas of Facilities Management, New Student Orientation, Recreation, Parent and Family Programs, Leadership and Training, Marketing and Communications, Adult Learning, and Major Events and Programs.
Over the last six years, Tony has presented at over thirty universities and national conferences on topics of innovation, digital leadership, technology, and unconventional leadership. He received the Diamond Honoree Award from the ACPA Foundation, the highest honor of the American College Personnel Association, recognizing transformative contributions to the field (2017) and earned NASPA's 2017 Technology Emerging Practice Award.
In addition, Tony has worked over 20 years as a consultant in the areas of executive coaching, leadership development, presentation skills, risk-taking, innovation, social media, conflict resolution, and team cohesiveness. Past clients include J&J, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Vistakon, Navigant, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, United Way, Merrill Lynch, Tumi International, and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Guests

Gavin Henning

Gavin is a college student educator with a reputation as an organizer, collaborator, and catalyst for educational change. His professional mission is to generate applied scholarship, bridge theory to practice, create systems and processes, and teach higher education professionals to foster college student learning, development, and success.

Gavin has advanced this mission during his 20+ years in higher education in positions including professor, assessment practitioner, and student affairs educator. In his current position as Director of the Master of Higher Education Administration and Doctorate of Education Programs at New England College, Gavin helps prepare the next generation of professionals to improve educational organizations. As president of ACPA – College Student Educators International he leads the premiere higher education association centered on fostering college student learning and development. As founder of Student Affairs Assessment Leaders and member of the executive committee of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, Gavin helps further a national agenda of accountability and continuous improvement of higher education programs and services.

Gavin has contributed to two recent books on student affairs assessment. He is co-editor of Coordinating Divisional Student Affairs Assessment: A Practical Guide and co-author of Student Affairs Assessment: Theory to Practice.

Gavin has been recognized by for his contributions to student affairs and higher education by receiving ACPA’s Annuit Coeptis award and Diamond Honoree awards.

Gavin holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education Leadership and Policy Studies and a Master of Arts degree in Sociology both from the University of New Hampshire as well as a Master of Arts degree in College and University Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from Michigan State University.

Darby Roberts

Darby is the director of Student Life Studies at Texas A&M University. In her role leading the student affairs assessment office, she focuses on assessing student learning in the co-curricular, program review, assessment training. In addition, Darby teaches in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education graduate program.

Darby has contributed to the scholarship in student affairs assessment. She recently co-authored Student Affairs Assessment: Theory to Practice and co-edited Learning is Not Sprint: Assessing and Documenting Student Leader Learning in Cocurricular Involvement. Darby has also written several chapters in various books and frequently presents at conferences. Recently, Darby became a member of the editorial board for the College Student Affairs Journal.

In terms of professional involvement, Darby served as co-chair for NASPA’s Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community (AERKC) from 2013 to 2015 and is still involved in the leadership team. Darby was also one of the founding members of Student Affairs Assessment Leaders. Her work has been recognized through NASPA’s Excellence Awards and the AERKC Innovation Award.

Darby earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration, a Master of Science in Human Resources Management, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in business analysis and research (management information systems), all from Texas &AM University.